'Proud daughter of Kerry': New York Governor congratulates Kingdom on All-Ireland win

James Cox

Governor of New York Kathy Hochul has congratulated Kerry on their recent All-Ireland football final victory.

Ms Hochul called herself a "proud daughter of Kerry" and shared a picture of herself posing with a Kerry jersey.

She wrote: "My grandfather instilled in me the fighting Kerry spirit and a love for the game as a founder of the North American GAA and star of our local Buffalo team."

As a proud daughter of Kerry, congratulations to @Kerry_Official on winning the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship!

My grandfather instilled in me the fighting Kerry spirit and a love for the game as a founder of the North American GAA and star of our local Buffalo team. pic.twitter.com/tIiF7b7kRg

— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) July 27, 2022

Ms Hochul is a proud Irish-American, and she has previously spoken about her family roots.

Her grandparents emigrated from Co Kerry to the United States just over a century ago.

She was "raised in a blue-collar Irish Catholic family in Buffalo that instilled a deep ion for public service and activism", according to her website.

In an article she wrote for the Irish Echo newspaper to mark St Patrick's Day last year, Ms Hochul said: "Just over 100 years ago, my father's parents fled lives surely destined for poverty in County Kerry.

"From the migrant farms of South Dakota, to domestic servitude in Chicago and finally to a steel plant in Lackawanna, they suffered hardship like millions of immigrants before and after them, but ultimately lived the American dream.

"Looking back, I realise these two barely educated but loving people had a profound impact on my decision to enter public service."

She also recalled her grandparents having pictures of Jesus and John F Kennedy displayed prominently in their home.

In comments on Ms Hochul's post, plenty of people offered to send her a real replica Kerry jersey.

MEP Seán Kelly, who is a former president of the GAA, wrote: "Well done Kathy. Your father was a real Kerryman, proud & true. Might cross paths sometime. We #kerrygaa folk stick together!!"